Eye-shade



A. RINGMAN.

EYE SHADE.

APPLICATION mm AUG-l0. ma.

Patented Dec. 23, 1919.

' UNTTE dTATS PATNT OFFICE;

ANDREW nrneraen, OF HICAGO, ILLINOIS.

EYE-SHADE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 23, 1919.

Application filed August 10, 1918. Serial No. 249,228.

marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in eye shades and consists in the matters hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

Eye shades are used, primarily, in the presence of high artificial light, in doing reading or clerical work, such as is done by bookkeepers, accountants, etc. The shade must be very light in weight, relatively cheap and of a construction that will be so easy upon the wearer as to not irritate him or annoy him in the performance of his work. Eyeshields have heretofore commonly been made crescent shaped, of cardboard or other material, the edges bound with some suitable fabric, sometimes with wire, and the device held to the forehead of the wearer by means of laterally and rearwardly extending wire arms, such as are used on spectacles.

One of the objections to such devices has been the crescent shape of the shade, as a whole, tapering upwardly from the bottom toward the side,which, while shielding the eyes of the wearer from the direct or frontal rays of light, permit the light to implnge at the sides. Another objection to such de vices has been the nature of the binding at the upper part of the shield. where the binding edge lies directly upon the forehead of the wearer, and, when the shield is held sufficiently close and tight to be retained in position, makes a ridge or indentation in the forehead to the annoyance and irritation of the wearer, and the interference with his. work. i 7

One of the objects of my invention is to produce a shield which will obviate the objections aforesaid and which, at the same time, will embody a shield of neat appearance, light weight, and one which may be firmly fas ened position upon the forehead of the wearer with a yielding cushion between the shield and forehead.

To'these ends, the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 illustrates a front view of an improved eye-shade, embodying; my invention.

Fig. 2 represents a top, plan View of the same.

Fig. 3 represents a vertical, sectional view, taken upon line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4: represents a sectional view taken onthe line 4t1 of Fig. 1, illustrating the method of attaching the holding means to the shield.

Referring to said drawing, my improved eye-shade is represented as a' whole at A as comprising a main portion 1 of thin flexible, but relatively firm composition cardboard or the like, having a top or forehead margin at 2 and a bottom margin 3. Near the ends of-the bottom margins V shaped reoesses extending partway only of the width of the main portion 1 and toward the top 2, are formed or cut out ofsaid portion 1, leaving side margins i and 5.

The parts adjacent the margins 4: and 5 are overlapped at either side of the main body portion of the shade, the margin 4 in each case extending behind the body portion, as indicated bythe dotted lines in Fig.1- and by full line in Fig. 3.

A binding preferably of fabric, 7, may be securedbv stitches 8 or otherwise to the bottom The efiect of this overlapping and binding is to first cause the ends of the edges 12 and upwardly and inwardly inclined marginal edges 13 which are merged 1 in a gentle curve at 14:, each edge 13 extending upwardly to oneend of the top margin 2. The binding, 7 is preferably of a single piece of fabric as shown.

The top margin is covered and protected by a binding of yielding material 15, in this instance of rubber tubing slit lengthwise and, the margin 2 bein first inserted in the rubber tube, secured thereto by cement or other suitable means.

Flexible, relatively narrow and thin straps 16 of suitable material such as celluloid or the like, are secured at their ends to the side walls 99 near the ends of the top margin 2, by rivets 17 or other suitable means. A buckle 18, secured to one of the free ends of one strap 16 and adapted to receive the free end of the other strap 16 affords adjustable means for locking the straps together and securing the shade to the head of the user. The usual air holes or aper tures 19 may be made in the main portion 1, preferably near the rubber binding 15.

When in use my improved eye-shade will be found to have several distinct advantages. In the first place, the inclined front p n tion 1 and the vertically disposed portion 10 extend outwardly from the face of the wearer and do not rest upon the face at all, only the rubber covered margin 2 touching the forehead, and bending in proper curvature as shown in Fig. 2 to conform to the shape of the forehead. The eyes are thus protected more fully from the rays of light because of the downwardly extending por tion 10. Again the side walls 99 also protect the eyes from rays of light, that otherwise would impinge upon the eyes from the sides and while the side walls do not touch the face along their margins, their upper margins 13 extend substantially to the temples. The flat light retaining bands 16 serve to hold the shade in position without in any degree conveying to the user the feeling of a tight or constricted binding piece about the head and the soft rubber binding member 15 prevents the margin 2 from being pressed into or binding upon the forehead. It also enables the wearer to shift the shade or to adjust it up or down on the forehead without inconvenience or any scraping act1on. Moreover, the effect as a whole eliminates all sense of a shield or apparatus be mg worn and after a few minutes in use, the person readily forgets that he has it on.

Again the shape of the parts and the means of securing the same together, with the material used have the additional advantage ant. utility of being very easy to fabricate at a minimum expenditure both of time and money, thus greatly reducing the cost and bringing the price of the completed article within the reach of the user. I am aware that automobile goggles-have been made, so folded or shaped as to form not only a front wall to shade and guard the eyes, but also side walls at the ends; but

all such structures of which I am aware, are so arran ed that their margins completely rest upon the forehead, temples, cheeks and nose of the wearer, completely inclosing and protecting the parts mentioned from wind, dust and objectionable particles of matter which otherwise would strike the face or eye. Such devices would be totally unfitted for use as eye shades, which must be simply a barrier int rposed between the eyes and the objectionable rays of light and which must not have any such barrier between the eyes and the object to which the eyes are being directed, such as a book or writing sheet or the like.

I claim as my invention:

1. An eye shade having a downwardlyinclined body portion, the lower edge of which is slit on each sid of the central line and the portions adjacent the slit arranged in overlapping relation to cause a more abrupt downward inclination of the lower edge of the body, said edge extending in front of ano spaced from the face and nose of the wearer.

2. An eye shade having a downwardly inclined body portion, the lower edge of which is slit on. each side of the central line and the portions adjacent the slit arranged in overlapping relation to cause more abrupt downward inclination of the lower edge of the body, said edge extending in front of and spaced from the face and nose of the wearer, and a binding extending along said lower dge and holding the poltions adjacent the slits in overlapped relation.

3. An eye shade having a downwardly inclined body portion, the lower edge of said. body portion being slit on each side of the central line and the portions adjacent the slits being arranged in overlapping relation to cause a more abrupt dow ward inclina tion of the lower edge of the body, and to provide rearwardly-extending downwardlyinclined side portions, the front portion of said shade being spaced from the face and nose of the wearer and the side aortions be ing adapted for engagement with the sides of the he l, substantially as described.

In iIGStlnlODY, that I claim the foregoing as my invention 1 aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 7th day of August, A. D. 1918.

ANDREW RINGMAN.

WVitnesses:

Bnnrrra L. MAoGnnoon, TAYLOR E. Brown, 

